


Poor

by HellsLittleLiar



Series: Prompts [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Poverty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-26 02:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4987408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellsLittleLiar/pseuds/HellsLittleLiar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A character study of Sarah Rogers and her life as a single mother living in poverty.</p><p>Part 9 of my 100 Prompts challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poor

Sarah Rogers knew she was poor. As were the other families in her building - even the entire neighbourhood. The economic crisis wasn’t labelled the depression for nothing. She wouldn’t mind being poor, as she had been her entire life, but she had a little boy; Steve, and Steve needed looking after. Her baby boy wasn’t like the rest of the children - he was sick. He was too sick to play outside or go to school sometimes and oftentimes he was too sick to leave his own bed. Hospital bills weren’t cheap - she should know since she was a nurse (and a waitress and a babysitter and and and).

So she worked three jobs, which plenty of people did (tried to do until the weight of life crushed them like bugs). It was fine. She wasn’t tired at all (I promise I’m not, Stevie, of course I’ve got time to read to you before bed). She could do this all day. (She did do this all day. Day after day after day after -). She wakes up at five in the morning and checks her son is still breathing (thank God for the little Barnes boy who volunteered to check in on Steve every day or she would have to stay home and they would both starve). She went to the hospital to work as a nurse and at five in the afternoon, she ran halfway across the neighbourhood to get to the dingy little cafe she waitressed at (she was almost fired after she hit a man who had slapped her derriere - hurting her and making her drop the tray of food she was carrying. She managed to keep her job by the skin of her teeth and the scraping of her nails as she clung tightly onto it). 

(She was grateful for the job, really, it was better than what she used to have to do after work when she was being forced to find ways to survive. She hoped Steve never found out about what a shame his mother had been in the past. She hoped she never had to do that again. She hoped Steve never had to go down that road - no - best not to think of it.)

On the weekends, when she had no nursing shifts and the cafe refused to give her any more hours, she looked after the small children in her building. She didn’t earn a lot from this. The parents only payed her what they could afford, but Sarah was a kind woman and she looked after all of the children nontheless. (She wouldn’t make them pay - many of them were just trying to hold down one job without losing it.) (She worked three jobs and still found time for her son - an unprompted voice from the back of her subconscious reminds her every so often. She crushes it down every time.)

They just needed to save up a little money and all of their troubles would go away.  
(Right?)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> My next prompt fill is going to be a character study of Maria Stark, so look out for that if you're interested.  
> Please leave me a comment below if you liked it!
> 
> Part 9 of my 100 Prompts challenge.
> 
> _______
> 
> You can now subscribe to my patreon to see my original works! :)  
> https://www.patreon.com/hellslittleliar


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